Sometimes the person who wants a member to join isn't the member. An adult child wants a parent to have a doctor they can reach. A parent wants a graduate covered. A gift membership makes that easy.
Who buys them
- Adult children for a parent.
- Parents for a young adult leaving home or a family plan.
- Friends or relatives during a hard time.
- A business owner for one key employee. Larger groups belong in an employer contract. Small employers and DPC.
How to set it up
- A fixed term: 3, 6 or 12 months, paid up front.
- A gift certificate with a code the recipient uses to enroll.
- Clear terms: what happens when it ends, whether it's refundable.
- The recipient must agree to join. Don't enroll anyone without their consent.
Privacy
Don't share the member's health information with the buyer unless the member agrees. Ask your attorney what form that consent should take.
In your books
A gift membership paid up front is money for months of service you haven't delivered yet. Ask your bookkeeper whether to record it as unearned revenue and recognize it month by month. How prepaid memberships work in your books.
Promote it at the right times
Holidays, Mother's Day and Father's Day, and graduation season. In a made-up example, 12 gift memberships in December, and 8 of those members renew on their own.
What I'd do this week
- Decide the terms you'd offer.
- Ask your membership platform whether it supports gift codes.
- Ask your bookkeeper how to record prepaid gifts.
Common questions
What if the recipient never enrolls?
Put your policy in the terms: refund, credit or expiry. Check your state's gift certificate rules.
Can the buyer see the member's visits?
Not without the member's written permission.
Do gift members stay?
Track renewals after the gift ends.
Want prepaid memberships recorded right?
We reconcile every account every month and send your P&L and Balance Sheet by the 15th, so you can see what each new member is worth and what it cost to get them. If that's what you need, apply to work with us.